Page 20 of Guardians
“Austin mostly, but we spent a few years down in Galveston.”
“Did you grow up in Austin or move there as an adult?” She was happy to have found common ground with Diego. He seemed hard and hostile most of the time.
“My father was Colombian, and my mother was from Texas. Their marriage ended when I was fourteen. My two older brothers stayed in Colombia with Dad. My younger sister and I went to Texas with Mom.”
He listed the facts with such casualness, but Lexie didn’t believe it for a minute. “That had to be horrible for you. Your family was literally torn in half. Were you and your brothers close?”
“They were close to each other. I was five years younger, so they found me annoying.”
She could picture the scene. A fourteen-year-old Diego pestering his teenage brothers because he was desperate for attention. She understood the dynamic all too well because her only sibling was six years older than she was. “Would you have stayed with your father if they’d given you the choice?”
“Absolutely.” Apparently too antsy to sit still, Diego stood and helped with the dishes. “My mother cheated on my father, so I blamed her for the divorce. I felt as if staying with her was a punishment and I made damn sure she understood that.”
Divorce was never one sided, but she decided to keep her opinions to herself. Instead, she asked, “Did you ever forgive her or did the divorce ruin your relationship?”
“I joined the Planetary Defense Force on my eighteenth birthday. That made it obvious that I wanted to be as far away from her as humanly possible. I can still remember the stricken look on her face when I told her what I’d done.”
She tensed. Wanting to spite a parent wasn’t a very good reason for joining the military. “Have you ever regretted your decision?”
“Long-range patrols give you lots of time to think, to reflect on the choices you’ve made and the people you’ve hurt,” Diego went on after a tense pause. “I realized that there was probably more to the story than I knew. I needed to hear my mother’s side at the very least. That’s when I was captured by Nuevo. I was their prisoner for three years and by the time I was rescued, Mom was dead.”
Lexie cringed. “Oh, Diego, I’m sorry. That must have been more painful than the divorce.”
“I don’t know about that, but regret has a way of eating at you. That’s a fact.”
They finished the dishes and returned to the table. Kane was still brooding like a thunderstorm and Lexie wasn’t sure why. “Are you sure you don’t want to share?” She encouraged him with her brightest smile.
“Get naked and sit on this table and I’ll consider it,” he countered.
Was he serious or did he just think she wouldn’t do it? They’d already seen her naked and sex was unavoidable. Why not call his bluff and learn more about him? “Give me your word that your story will be honest and complete, and I’ll let you play with me any way you like.” She drew the tunic several inches higher onto her thighs.
His gaze narrowed and his lips compressed for a moment, but all he said was, “I’ll make it worth your while.”
CHAPTER 4
Elias backhanded his spy across the face. The skinny youth lost his balance and went down on one knee beside the rustic table that served as Elias’ desk. “This alliance cannot be allowed to happen,” he shouted. “Why the fuck didn’t you stop them?”
“I was alone in the forest, sir,” Deakin protested. “I was told to watch and immediately report if anything unusual happened. That’s why I’m here.”
Deakin had walked into Elias’ office ten minutes ago with his proverbial tail tucked between his legs. Elias had been sharing a brew with Armando, his beta, before they joined the nightly festivities in the adjacent common room. Lupine village was divided into eleven packs, each with its own alpha. Elias’ pack was largest and strongest, so he was the village alpha. That meant the other ten alphas answered to him. Despite a stressful week, Elias had been in a good mood for a change, but the spy’s report quickly evaporated his cheer.
Releasing his grip on his animal nature, Elias allowed his features to change. His eyes burned and searing pain stabbedinto his head. He welcomed the discomfort, reveling in the surge of power released as the bones in his face elongated. His fingers transformed into claws and his canine teeth dropped, becoming lethal fangs. With control few could muster, he halted the shift midway. He bared his teeth and growled at the spy.
Deakin was a coward. He whined pathetically and exposed his neck, remaining on his knees. Deakin had been born in one of the Nuevo labs. He’d never known freedom, had never experienced life beyond the outpost, until he was deposited on this primitive planet. He appeared harmless, almost waifish, so he made the perfect spy. People either ignored him or felt sorry for him and tried to parent him. Both reactions allowed him to gather information.
Despite Deakin’s usefulness, Elias could not ignore this failure. He grasped the lad by the throat, digging in his claws hard enough to draw blood. “What happens to those who fail me?”
“I’ll do better, alpha.Pleasegive me another chance.”
Elias withdrew his claws and kicked Deakin in the chest. The spy went over onto his ass and kept his gaze lowered.
“Did you recognize the two females? What were their roles at Nuevo?” Elias’ voice growled menacingly because of the partial shift. He leaned against the desk and crossed his arms over his chest. Elias had plans for the humans, and they required in-depth preparations. The arrangements were nearly complete, so he could not allow the wretched cats to disrupt the schedule.
Deakin shook his shaggy head, looking even younger than his seventeen years. “They were nobody important, nobody on any of your lists.”
“Then why did the cats let them into their village? Zion has no use for humans.”
“He has a use for humanfemales,” Armando grumbled then downed the rest of his brew. “We’re all sick to death of our own hands.”
